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Three suspects released in Swedish cartoonist murder plot

Three suspects arrested in Ireland in connection with an alleged murder plot against a Swedish cartoonist were released Friday, according to broadcaster RTE.

A married couple as well as another woman were released after three and a half days, the police said, dpa reported.

They were arrested on Tuesday along with four other Muslims in the plot against Lars Vilks, who depicted the Prophet Mohammed with the body of a dog in 2007.

The four remaining suspects - a woman and three men - continued to be held by Irish police.

Also on Tuesday in the United States, it was revealed that an American woman called Jihad Jane had been held on connection with the plot against Vilks since October.

Her real name is Colleen LaRose, of Philadelphia, who faces charges of "conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, making false statements to a government official and attempted identity theft."

Vilks has been threatened several times. A bounty of 100,000 dollars was placed on his head by an Iraq-based insurgency group in 2007 after the publication of the caricature.

In response to the arrests, several Swedish newspapers reprinted the caricature, saying it was necessary to defend freedom of speech.

Peter Englund, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy that awards the Nobel Literature Prize, wrote in his blog that it was necessary to "reject this kind of fanaticism" and "stand up" for Vilks' right to express himself as an artist.